Murder charges filed after slaying near Red Line station

A Lawndale neighborhood man has been charged after a fatal shooting near the Garfield Red Line platform which occurred at the close of a violent Easter weekend, police said.

Frederick Stewart, 33, of the 2700 block of West Harrison Street, was charged with murder and is expected to appear in court Wednesday for a bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, police said.

Stewart was identified as the assailant who shot 33-year-old Javontay Tolliver, 33, in the 200 block of West Garfield Boulevard early Monday, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Tolliver was among more than 40 people shot in Chicago over the Easter weekend, one of the most violent of the year. More than half the victims were shot over a six-hour stretch from Saturday evening through Sunday morning.

Tolliver had been arguing with Stewart on the platform when a CTA worker told them to leave around 2:40 a.m., police said. As they walked away from the station, Stewart pulled out a handgun and shot Tolliver in the head, chest and back, police said.

Tolliver was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital about an hour after the attack. An autopsy Tuesday determined Tolliver died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 6500 block of South Maplewood Avenue, about five miles from the shooting.

Police said a shooting occurred Monday evening near Tolliver’s home, but it is not known if they were connected.

Around 6:25 p.m., a 25-year-old man was shot in the groin while walking in an alley in the 6500 block of South Maplewood, police said. He went to Holy Cross Hospital, where his condition had stabilized, police said.